Queer Resistance in “Kiss of the Spider Woman”

The Oscars have snubbed a lot of powerful films this year, but none may be more deserving of praise than the dynamic Kiss of the Spider Woman. The 2025 flick is full of dramatic musical numbers, explores the constraints and freedom of the queer identity, and highlights the healing power of resistance.

​In Kiss of the Spider Woman, we learn that love can be found even in the darkest and scariest places. This important message should resonate with straight and gay viewers alike, especially in today’s tumultuous times.

​Kiss of the Spider Woman is a small-budget film with an incredibly high talent pool. Diego Luna and Jennifer Lopez shine, each giving their all through transformative characters. Newcomer Tonatiuh glows among the greats with his performance, as the three stars share this profound story together.

​The narrative unravels in an unusual but impactful way. Two prisoners, played by resistance fighter Luna and flowery Tonatiuh, become cellmates during a revolution in Buenos Aires. The very feminine, flamboyant Molina (Tonatiuh) recounts their favorite movie in an effort to get the other man to open up. The fantastical film, also called Kiss of the Spider Woman, begins to blend into their caged circumstances, and art becomes a way to feel free.

​Jennifer Lopez delivers multiple jaw-dropping dance routines. She spoke on the popular podcast Las Culturistas about how musical theater was her first love, and growing up as an athlete prepared her for such strenuous work on/off the stage. It turned out she only had a few weeks to learn the role, where she actually plays three different characters to astonishing results.

​Diego Luna is the hardened revolutionary who softens from learning the Spider Woman story. As life in their cell flashes between reality and the world of the fictional movie, he’s bloodied and beaten for staying true to his cause. His true salvation is the nighttime conversations, revisiting the Spider Woman story. Telling Spider Woman also allows Molina to grow closer to his cellmate, with a warden pressing him to find information to be freed.

​As ICE terrorizes innocent neighborhoods and people, this movie reaches a new moment. The film is a reminder that the price of fighting back is always worth it, especially when you believe in justice.

​It’s crucial work to create and watch movies that have unapologetic queer leads. We need heroes to inspire us, folks who can overcome adversity in their own way. We see Molina constantly being degraded for believing themselves to be trans, and how transphobia/homophobia can be a reason enough to get an innocent person jailed, beaten, or worse.

​Molina is adamant that they are a woman and uses Kiss of the Spider Woman to explain how they feel inside. The starlet’s role leaves Molina wide-eyed and ready to take on a new identity. “Where You Are”, about making the most out of a bad situation, is an anthem for any queer person struggling. 

​The movie points out the harmful trope of gays always dying in the end, along with some other meta commentary about musical theater. Both sides of the Broadway aisle will laugh at the cellmates’ arguments about breaking out into song being unrealistic. 

​The trauma of living your truth against a regime stacked against you is something both prisoners bond over. Through tough moments of torture, food poisonings, beatings, lashings, electrocutions, and more, the characters always believe in the power of Kiss of the Spider Woman. Queer media can heal, lead to freedom, and change lives.